Cute animals, food and local breweries and that’s just the start of Alberta Open Farm Days.
On August 18 and 19 all Albertans are invited to join their rural neighbours to learn how your food gets from the farm to your table at Alberta Open Farm Days.
Admission: FREE with the exception of the Culinary events.
Location: All across Alberta
When: August 18 & 19
What: Three types of events: Culinary and Farm Tours.
The drive between Calgary and Edmonton can be pretty and also pretty monotonous, and it’s not often I decide to go off the highway. Opportunity leant itself for a “side” road trip when driving from Calgary a few weeks ago. Deanne and I decided that we were on a road trip we were going to make the most of it. We left Calgary and headed up the Cowboy Trail for a perfect little side trip.
First we need to talk about the car we drove. Ford Canada graciously handed over the keys to an 2018 EcoSport for the 24 hours we were gone. Honestly, there is nothing like driving a new car, especially one that was so comfortable to ride, and was kid free (no fishy crackers!). It took a while to get used to driving a vehicle smaller than my usual ride (a mini-van) but the EcoSport still held all of our bags, and backpacks with room to spare. I have to say my favourite part of driving this vehicle was the 8-inch touch screen. I like to geek out at tech… like a lot, and I didn’t think I’d get super excited about a touch screen in a car, but I did. The touchscreen is perfect size for navigation, the map was nice and large on the screen and I didn’t have to pull over to have a look at what Range Road we were at.
That one time we weren’t listening to 90’s on 9
I make semi-regular trips to Canmore, and when I drive past the Canmore Reservoir, past the turquoise blue water framed by the Rocky Mountains, I’ve seen the paddleboarders out there looking so cool and standing on their boards in one of the most beautiful places in the world and I keep thinking, “I want to do that.”
I finally had my chance to paddleboard otherwise known as SUP (the term SUP refers to stand up paddleboarding) after the Rocky Mountain Soap Women’s Run this past May, and now I’m convinced everyone needs to have a go because it was a) not as hard as I thought* b) really peaceful out on the reservoir! If every parent doesn’t need to spend some time out alone (or with friends) on a lake in Alberta, who does?
*I must preface this with I’m not athletic, or coordinated, and am more likely to be found in my house than out being active in nature.
If your kids are anything like mine, they’re very particular about the types of camps they attend summer. We don’t do a lot of camps during the summer because being bored is important for kids (as well as being very annoying for mom and dad), and the costs of camps can really add up (especially with three kids). The camps we sign the kids up for have to be special in that they’re learning a skill or improving on a skill set they have. It’s a lot of money to send kids to a camp so it’s important to us to make sure that the camp is a high quality. As a parent I get excited when my kids get excited about camps and here’s a couple that we’re excited about from Metro Continuing Education in Edmonton.
We’re excited to be giving away a one week camp up to $400 for one lucky winner! Contest rules are below, but here are some of our favourite camps at Metro Continuing Education to get you thinking of what class you’d like to win! * Contest is now closed*
One of our favourite child care providers in Edmonton is offering summer camps this summer! Using the same innovative approach to education Kepler Academy has joined these approaches and curriculum to day camps in July and August for children ages 5 to 12.
There are three summer camp modules for your kids;
It’s HERE! That big yellow light in the sky that feels kinda warm and that melted all the snow is an indication that spring (and eventually summer) is here! Yes, I legitimately just jinxed it for us all, but it can’t snow all year can it? (Apologies in advance if it does indeed snow all year.). That being said, when the sun comes out we all need to start worrying about sunscreen and sunburns and protecting our kids from getting burnt.
May is Melanoma month and I’m not saying this to scare you, but I am saying it from a “whitey shade seeker with a large collection of wide-brimmed hats who applies sunscreen on her kids before they leave for school (and packs them travel sunscreen to take to school)” concerned parent to another. Everyone gets hats and sunscreen, and the kids know better than to fight me with it.
Here are some scary facts to get you in the mood for SUNSCREEN!
It was estimated that in 2017:
– 7,200 Canadians will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer.
– 1,250 Canadians will die from melanoma skin cancer.
– 4,000 men will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer and 790 will die from it.
– 3,300 women will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer and 450 will die from it.Source: Canadian Cancer Society
Bare with me for a minute, because I could go on and on all day, but this isn’t just a white skinned person disease (although yes, it’s predominately a caucasian illness), people with darker skins are also at risk for skin cancer. Darker skin doesn’t mean you’re immune, in FACT, skin cancer can present differently in people of colour than in Caucasian skin, which is a whole other topic but you can find articles here and here about that.
If you (or your child) have had at least one blistering sunburn in your lifetime you have a higher risk of developing melanoma (source).
A recent study found that Alberta is on par with warmer countries in terms of skin cancer risk. Many of this can be attributed to our need to bust out of the house when the temperatures are warmer, that our cold (and looooong) winters prevent us from skin cancer and our farmers spending those long days out in the sun with no sun protection.
Hug a farmer today and then slather them with sunscreen. It’s the right thing to do.
I’m not saying that you should become a sun hermit like me, although I’m counting on this to give me the most amazing skin when I’m 80, but, you need to look after your biggest organ …
…which is your skin.
The rules are a little different when it comes to applying sunscreen to babies. According to the Government of Canada, do not apply sunscreen to babies under 6 months (unless directed to do so by your Dr.), their skin is much more delicate and sensitive than ours. Keep babies out of direct sunlight to prevent sunburns, overheating and dehydration. Little babies need hats, shade and fluids when they’re in the heat.
Kids can and should wear sunscreen, and a hat, and sunglasses when outside. I know it can be a real pain in the backside to get a toddler to keep a hat on, so I have no tips there, but keep trying to keep that hat on, and know that one day, in a very very long time from now they will never thank you for it, but you did a good job keeping them sun safe. The suns rays (UV rays) are the strongest between 11 & 3, and it’s best to limit exposure to UV rays during this time. Again, I know, these are the times that kids should be outside playing and having fun. I’m just letting you know.
Skin cancer is a preventable disease and with summer around the corner (fingers crossed) as we send the kids outside to play and ride their bikes and climb trees, can we just slather a bunch of sunscreen on them and pop a hat on their head before they head out?
We’re now 11 years into social media land and for those of us who became parents around the time Facebook started, our habits have changed, especially when it comes to posting pictures of our kids. Why? Well, for lots of reasons but mostly our awareness around our kids’ digital footprint, but also, for our own privacy.
With all the changes that happen on Facebook, it’s a good idea to go into the settings and make sure that we have opted into the privacy settings that make sense to us and the content that we are posting online. Even if we think our information on Facebook is set to private, it might not be. To be sure that your profile is private from people you don’t know, follow these steps.
(Before we get into the nitty-gritty, the following steps will be done from Facebook on my desktop, and secondly, as you know Facebook changes its layout on a regular basis, so if you’re reading this at a later date, some of the functions might look a little different. )
This isn’t the 3 step short-cut that Facebook offers, this takes a little bit longer but is the best way to adjust what content on your personal profile is seen by your friends and “non-friends” on Facebook.
At the very top right of your screen click on the arrow next to the “?” and that will bring down a list of options for you to choose from. Scroll down that list and then click on “Settings.”
Your screen should look like the image below and once you get there click on Privacy (where my green arrow is):
Once you’ve clicked on privacy, this is where you can get nit-picky about who sees your content. You can limit who sees your friend lists, who can look up your phone number, your email address and who can send you friend requests. Edit this as you see fit. I’ve got my settings to friends only for all except “Who can send you friend requests,” I’ve selected “friends of friends” (and then, of course, you’re under no obligation to accept that friend request.
This is where you select who can see the content on your Facebook page. This section is for who can tag you in photo’s, who can see photo’s you’ve been tagged in etc.
BUT, the most important part of this page which is kinda hidden is in the REVIEW section.
Look for the second item “Review what other people see on your timeline” and click on “view as” this will show you what your personal profile looks like to people who are not your friends.
Slowly look through, is this what you want it to look like? If so, you’re off to the races. If not, you need to adjust some settings. It will show all your profile picture updates and the comments underneath your profile photos no matter what privacy setting you have it on. Why is this the most important section? Because you may think that your profile is on lockdown but there may be other things that need adjusting.
Well, it’s not unless it’s a priority to you. Many people post pictures of their kids for their friends and family to see how the kids have grown but not realizing that yes, your great aunt can see the pictures, but so can anyone with access to Facebook if you don’t change the settings. If this is important to you, then yes, you need to spend the time (about 10 minutes) to check your settings.
YES you can! Follow the same procedure as above (Settings and Privacy and then tap on account settings) from there you’ll be taken to screens that are similar to the ones above. Don’t be tempted to do the quick review on the mobile app, scroll down and check all the settings to make sure you are comfortable with who sees your information.
At some point in the next month, the snow will melt and at some point, it will reach above 10 degrees and we’ll be able to send our kids back into the neighbourhood onto their bikes. The trouble is is that your child has grown, and now their knees are hitting the handlebars and now they need a new bike. Not to worry, Alberta Bike Swap is here to save your bank account, and not just for your kids because you need a bike too!
Alberta Bike Swap is a registered non-profit and gives people a safe place to sell, donate or buy a bike, and bike swaps are happening across Alberta in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer.
“Bikes sold at the swap are safer than a garage sale purchase because our squad of volunteer bike techs perform a basic safety and mechanical check of each bike.” – Alberta Bike Sales
What do you need to know before you head to a bike swap? Well, that depends on if you’re buying or selling, but here are some factoids.
When: May 5, 2018
Consign: 0800-1400
Buy: 1430-1600
Donate: 0800-1600
Where: City Centre Parkade, 340 10 Ave SW
Edmonton:
When: May 12
Consign: 0800-1400
Buy: 1430-1600
Donate: 0800-1600
Where: Kinsmen Sports Centre Fieldhouse, 9100 Walterdale Hill
When: April 28, 2018
Consign: 0900-1400
Buy: 1430-1600
Donate: 0900-1600
Where: Exhibition Park North Pavillion 3401 Parkside Dr. S
When: April 27, 2018
Consign: 1500-1900
Buy: 1915-2030
Donate: 1500-2000
Where: Exhibition and Stampede Wildrose Room Higdon Hall, 2055 21 Ave SE
When: May 11, 2018
Consign: 1600-1900
Buy: 1915-2030
Donate: 1600-2030
Where: Salon B Westerner Park 4847A 19 St
For more information please check the Alberta Bike Swap website or their Facebook page.
